Alice’s personal journey as a celiac disease survivor and champion for research in this field, coupled with her prior experience of more than two decades in healthcare business development and marketing, taught her that patients need to be educated and empowered with solid information in order to make decisions about their desired health outcomes. She believes that clinical research must include patients, caregivers and the healthcare community working together to focus on the most pressing areas of need for those living with a particular disease.
As a part of the Communications team, Bailey gets to share the work of Beyond Celiac with the world! She was diagnosed with celiac disease as a teenager and knows all too well how difficult adjusting to the gluten-free lifestyle can be. Before coming to Beyond Celiac, Bailey worked as a technical writer and editor, taking long-winded, complicated information and making it easy for the average person to understand. Now, she uses her editing, writing, and social media skills to expand the celiac community and encourage thoughtful conversation around the disease. When she’s not responding to questions on Instagram or drafting social posts, you can find her drawing at home or taking walks through the woods.
Kate joined Beyond Celiac in 2017. She directs the Beyond Celiac Coalition, a precompetitive partnership focused on barriers to clinical trials in celiac disease. Kate also leads all clinical trial recruitment and helps pharmaceutical, biotech, and other companies interested in the celiac disease space understand the patient perspective. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, Kate led multiple qualitative and quantitative research projects focused on understanding diagnostic and disease management experiences primarily in oncology. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Notre Dame and an MPH in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kate is based outside of Philadelphia, PA.
Mary Kate is an accomplished leader with decades of experience in the nonprofit space. As an accomplished fundraising executive, Mary Kate excels in strategy, execution, team building and creating partnerships. As head of the Beyond Celiac development team, she builds mutually beneficial collaborations with strategic partners, fully understanding their needs and the needs of the celiac disease community.
Angela has two decades of experience building mission-driven communications and development initiatives through leadership roles in healthcare advocacy, human services, community development, government, and education organizations. She was diagnosed with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis in 2023 and brought her expertise in content marketing and community building to Beyond Celiac in March 2024.
Angela believes all things are improved with a dash of dog fur and that every day should include chocolate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, and Marketing from the University of Dayton. Angela completed a master’s degree in American Culture Studies, with an emphasis on cross-cultural community development at Bowling Green State University.
Jordan Dubow is a board certified neurologist with fellowship training in movement disorders and vascular neurology, and began his medical career in academia as a movement disorders and stroke neurologist. Jordan received his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine internship, neurology residency and fellowship training at University of California Los Angeles, Northwestern University and Weill Cornell Medical College. He has over a dozen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry where he has served as a full time or acting Chief Medical Officer for over 10 companies, leading all clinical and regulatory aspects of drug development. Jordan has worked on the FDA approval of 16 drugs new drug applications, designed countless studies across all stages of development and worked with over 100 companies providing strategic guidance in clinical development, clinical operations and regulatory affairs for drug development of small molecules, large molecules and cell and gene therapies.
Jordan has a son with celiac disease and is passionate about and dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for celiac disease.
Deanne brings a wealth of experience in the nonprofit sector to her role at Beyond Celiac, having worked in a variety of roles such as fundraising, development, project management, relationship management, and event planning. As an enthusiastic nonprofit professional, she joined the Beyond Celiac team in 2023 with the primary goal of cultivating and expanding partnerships that align with the organization’s mission. Deanne holds a BA in Strategic Communication from Temple University and an MBA in Organizational Management from Eastern University. Her strategic mindset, coupled with her passion for social impact, makes her a valuable asset to the Beyond Celiac team.
Nancy joined Beyond Celiac in June of 2004 after working extensively for AT&T leading a global sales team focused on the needs of multi-national corporations. At Beyond Celiac, Nancy works across departmental lines to assist in operational matters along with programming, Philadelphia area events, contracts, sponsorship and supporting volunteers. She also is responsible for coordinating efforts with the Beyond Celiac Board of Directors, contributing to Beyond Celiac publications and working on Beyond Celiac programs for raising awareness. In addition to her work with Beyond Celiac, Nancy serves as the Chairperson for the Board of Directors of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC), an advocacy organization comprised of the major national voluntary and professional societies concerned with digestive diseases working to improve public policy and increase public awareness to promote the best possible medical outcome and quality of life for current and future patients. Nancy works out of the Ambler, PA office.
George J. Gorge is responsible for all finance operations at Beyond Celiac. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, George held a variety of financial management positions; most recently he led the accounting department at Amplifier Research Corporation. George also was the Chief Financial Officer at the Girl Scout of Eastern Pennsylvania and held various financial management positions with Olympus Corporation of the Americas. Before joining Olympus George held several positions of increasing responsibility for a 21-year career with Subaru of America. George is a graduate of Drexel University with a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business majoring in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of both the American Institute of CPAs and the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs. George is also an active volunteer in both the community and church. George works out of the Ambler, PA office.
With eight-plus years of experience in fundraising, Becca strategically helps nonprofits increase the development, cultivation, and stewardship of donors and community relations. In her role as Director of Development at Beyond Celiac, Becca is responsible for creating and providing leadership to comprehensive and cost-effective fundraising programs, encompassing annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, special events, and other initiatives to attract maximum support from volunteer and donor constituencies of individuals, businesses, and foundations.
Becca is on two nonprofit boards. She is the treasurer of the board of directors at Castle of Our Skins, a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music in classrooms, concert halls, and beyond. She is also a board member and violin player of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra. Becca earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UConn and a Master of Social Work from Hunter College.
Alex Kendall joined the advancement team in 2024 after graduating from Northeastern University. Receiving a celiac diagnosis in college inspired Alex to consider a career in the patient advocacy space. They’re excited to draw upon their administrative experience and passion for communication in service of Beyond Celiac. Outside of work, Alex enjoys playing guitar and collecting CDs.
Valerie joined the Beyond Celiac team in 2020, first as a member of our inaugural Summer Intern Council, then as our Volunteer Engagement Intern, our Community Engagement Coordinator, and now Community Engagement Manager. Valerie graduated with a triple major in Medicine, Health, and Society; Psychology; and Women’s and Gender Studies from Vanderbilt University in the spring of 2021. After being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2015, Valerie started a career of advocacy that included creating an international network for newly diagnosed celiac teens, revolutionizing Vanderbilt’s special diet program, designing the Nima College Ambassador Program, and working individually to help students navigate collegiate life with Celiac Disease. She is extremely passionate about being an advocate for one’s self and excited to be working with Beyond Celiac to engage the community through the Reach Beyond Celiac ambassador program and work to advance a cure.
Erin joined Beyond Celiac in January 2022. She leads the Beyond Celiac Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board and supports data analyses. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, she conducted research and managed federally funded subgrant awards that largely focused on food insecurity, healthy food access, and the reduction of health disparities. Erin is a graduate of Brown University, where she earned both her undergraduate degree in Public Health and an MPH in Global Health. She is based in Wilmington, DE.
Amy Ratner joined Beyond Celiac in 2016 as the medical and science news analyst to provide coverage of celiac disease research news. She has extensive experience reporting on and writing about celiac disease. She was editor-in-chief, associate editor and contributing editor for 23 years at Gluten-Free Living magazine, where her work touched on all topics related to celiac disease, including lifestyle, diet, nutrition, and medical and research developments. When Amy’s daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease as a toddler 24 years ago, she was set on a path that combined her commitment to improving life for those with celiac disease with her journalism training. She holds of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Pennsylvania State University and was an award-winning newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania before working in alumni relations for Goucher College in Baltimore and in communications for the Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C. Her writing about celiac disease has also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Baby Talk magazine, Allergic Living and other publications. Her current role has expanded to include managing Beyond Celiac research grant awards and scientific partnerships. Her family has now grown to include two grandsons.
Debra Silberg, MD, PhD, FACG is an accomplished life sciences executive with deep experience across all stages of drug development. She serves as a Scientific Advisor to multiple pharmaceutical companies. She is currently a Scientific Advisor and on the Board of Directors of Ellodi Pharmaceuticals. She has held clinical leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Shire, and Takeda, where she served as the company’s Global Vice President of Clinical Development and Clinical Science Head for Gastroenterology. In this role, she was responsible for the Gastrointestinal (GI) program team, which included approximately 30 physicians and clinical scientists across the US, Europe, China, and Japan who were focused on several GI diseases, including celiac disease. Additionally, Dr. Silberg oversaw the clinical aspects and led discussions with regulatory authorities (FDA and EMA) to facilitate the advancement of numerous GI development programs.
Dr. Silberg earned her BS degree at the University of Michigan, her PhD in Immunology from Wayne State University School of Medicine, and her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She then became a faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania where she treated patients and was the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded molecular biology laboratory. Dr. Silberg has been the recipient of seven NIH grants, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, served on numerous national scientific committees, and is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. Email Debra.
As Senior Director of Donor Relations, Mary handles a wide range of development functions, including communications and special events. She joined Beyond Celiac in April 2016 shortly after the organization’s rebranding and shift in focus to accelerate research. Previously, Mary worked as a clinical medical librarian after completing a post-graduate fellowship with the National Library Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. She was introduced to development work through community outreach work in Chester County while raising her now college-aged children. She holds a BA in English from Cornell University and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland. Mary works out of the Ambler, PA office.
Lauren is a recent college graduate with a BS in Psychology with experience in the marketing field, and she is looking forward to using these skills to foster the Beyond Celiac online community. Diagnosed as a young kid, Lauren is passionate about spreading awareness and destigmatizing celiac disease, as well as providing resources for understanding the fascinating research surrounding celiac today!
Eric is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst with more than 18 years of experience in institutional investing, responsible for investment decisions totaling more than $2.5 billion. He began working with Beyond Celiac in 2020, designing Beyond Celiac Investments (BCI), a venture philanthropy investment program to accelerate the development of treatments and a cure for celiac disease by leveraging the speed and scale of venture capital and capital markets. In February 2024, Eric stewarded the successful launch of BCI with an initial funding of $2 million and is responsible for the program’s ongoing relational and operational management.
Eric began his career with 10 years at Slocum (now Pavilion, a Mercer Practice) sourcing, performing due diligence, and designing portfolios of private investments for endowments, foundations, insurance companies, nonprofit healthcare systems, and private pensions. Thereafter, he spent 5 years at Cogent Consulting, PBC focusing on impact investing. Most recently, he spent two years on the investment team and leading the impact investment function at the Bush Foundation.
Eric is married to a person with celiac disease and is passionate about quality of life, treatments, and a cure for her and other sufferers.
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